[NK] Red and Black

Aeizith's punch had completely missed and, in an instant, both Elspeth and Xuba were gone, moving FAR FASTER than the little boy would be able to detect. Still, he heard noises and his eyes immediately followed them high above, feeling the quaking of the impacts of each blow as the shockwaves barraged everything above and below... He still couldn't see them move, it was so fast... He barely even had time to process what was going on up there before Xuba and Elspeth appeared overhead from their temporary fight, the woman bleeding from both mouth and limb, her arm twisted at such an awkward angle, such a disgusting and unnatural shape, the boy felt like he was going to vomit... What's worse is that her expression indicated that she was taking... pleasure in her suffering...? Was something about their being mangled hilarious to her or something...? Why was she cracking jokes!? Aeizith looked down at his own broken arm that he held to his torso, swelling up and turning its own shade of black-and blue in some places to be sure, but nothing compared to the beating Elspeth recieved just a moment ago...

As if noticing his disgust, Xuba placed a hand on Aeizith's head, asking if he was alright? What kind of question was that...? If there was one weakness Xuba had, it was that he wasn't giving them any oppertunity to learn, rather, he decided to completely dominate them with his superior abilities instead. If he was trying to teach them about strategy or using weaknesses, it doesn't matter the weakness or the strategy if the target of such is FAR stronger than you at your current potential. Aeizith looked up at Xuba, a strange look on his face.

"Xuba... She's hurt... can't you see...?" Aeizith looked from Elspeth's mangled form back to Xuba's fully untouched. "If s-she continues... s-she's gonna die.... C-can we take a b-break or something...? P-please...?"

Xuba turned back towards the girl and took note of the damage. It brought him back to the night he killed his mother. The crazed looked yet incredulous look of realization in her eyes over what had occured. But there was a diffrence now. It was not a mother, but a girl before him.

Despite my control i still have not learned have i.... at least now i have the strength i once lacked. I also have  the wisdom i didnt have once before...


Xuba thought as he studied the damage done to the girl and with a single hand soft but powerful he stopped her. 

"Yeah i broke ypur arm, but you are not doing as well elsewhere either. But ill do my best. But now dont press yourself. Breath and no movements. If i continue... you will surely die...  your strong willed. Both of you. So as a reward we will take a trip. Aeizith you show persitance despite weakness. You will get stronger, you perhaps have after this. After all bones broken get stronger after healing. We shall rest and i will try my best to heal you both. Elspeth the handsigns to that technique you used earlier?"

Xuba spoke softly as without objection. He would sweep the girl off her feet softly and lower his  center of gravity as he would lower his body to the ground. Placing the girl in his lap as a soft bed versus the ground. 

In a swift motion he would discard his shirt and make a makeshift sling for Aezith out of the shirt. 

"Dont move the arm till i am done buddy"

His grey eyes would momentarially meet Aeziths as he spoke waiting for the handsigns from the girl.

It was very easy to see where Xuba's priorities lay by looking at his actions. The fact that didn't have much control over his own strength was becoming increasingly clear. She shifted on his lap, his kneecaps digging uncomfortably into her back. When he asked for the hand seals, she raised an eyebrow.

"For the Mist Servant genjutsu or that fire one?" she asked. Not even waiting for an answer, she kept on going. "It doesn't really matter. None of us have wounds that need to be cauterized and an illusion isn't fixing my ribs." her breath came out short and raspy. She huffed to herself, watching the older man patch up the boy. His arm looked pretty bad, but on the other hand he could still breathe properly. So much for First Aid. With her good hand, she began drumming out a rhythm on her thigh. Out of curiosity, she tried summoning some chakra to her hand. A single chakra thread burst out before dissolving, and it stung horribly before and afterwards. She whistled a bit before suddenly falling silent. What was the point? It wouldn't make him go faster and would likely distract him. She hummed for a second before stopping. This whole situation was a damn mess.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
210 words

Aint much i can do on the ground

Aeizith sighed in relief as Xuba heeded his words and stopped this utter smack-down, agreeing that if this fight went on any longer, at the very least, Elspeth would die and Aeizith would end up the same as she was now IF NOT worse. Despite the pain he was in and his jaded body SCREAMING for some kind of relief, the little white-haired boy smiled proudly, taking his master's compliments and then some... Persistence through weakness... Fighting a stronger opponent with an obvious handicap... That was him! Aeizith Black-Hearth! Quickly, Xuba immediately swept the damaged and broken woman off her feet and onto his lap, also suddenly discarding his shirt, tying it up into something resembling a makeshift sling. When he asked Aeizith not move his arm until he was done, the boy only nodded his head... He had no intention of moving it anyway... it hurt WAY too much... Xuba's eyes met Aeizith's light blue ones as the darker-skinned male fiddled around with the sling, waiting for the handsigns to the mist-technique Elspeth displayed earlier... It seemed to be the closest thing to instruction it seemed... example and word of mouth... no scrolls to examine, no books to read... just on-the-go training...

Aeizith winced as Xuba wrapped the sling around his neck, placing his damaged, swollen arm within the trough of the cloth, his shoulder immediately relaxing as he let the weight of his arm hang down within the sling... It still hurt to be sure, throbbing insanely, likely for several weeks, but at least his shoulder didn't scream at him for the energy usage of holding it against his chest.

"Th-thank you, Xuba.... F-for everyth-thing..." He smiled, despite the utter beating he'd received... "A-and.... w-where are w-we g-going...? W-what t-trip...?"

The girl truely was stubborn even in pain and at deaths door she kept up her games and xuba shook his head. He  glanced at Aeizith with a concerned look and nodded.

"You might take light of the situation. But you could say fear is a force to drive. However, there one thing i know is there is a reason why you are ticking now in life. The seals to heal you or at least ease your pains so you can save your strength to recover.  You might question why i would be willing to heal you even, because unlike the man you burned i place your life at a invaluable ammount. You are pretty and you shall grow. I dont kill for no reason. So if you wish to learn a true lesson. It is to accept help when needed. You ran alone long enough. Besides the boy Aeizith disires more to learn with a figure to guide him. We all balence each other you see elspeth. So for a little longer on the realm ill request you search deep inside for the thing which will ignite your will to survive. Grasp it. Embrace it, while i use the technique from earlier to mend your body."

Xuba focused chakra into his hands as it barely became visible to even the girl and he smiled. 

"What do you say?"

"Hm..." It wasn't even that much of a decision. As he monologued on and on, her thoughts started to swirl. She made up her mind long ago. "I'll come... I'll go with you," she whispered, not able to talk very loudly. "The seals... Boar, rat, and then snake." she shifted a bit on his lap and sent a glance over to Aeizith. She wondered what he thought of this... The three of them were quite an odd group. A strong warrior, a timid child, and her, a supposedly heartless criminal. They were like a discount genin team, without a jounin.

...

She must have been quite out of it to start thinking of stuff like that. "Right and wrong are suggestive. What's... What's okay for one person might be incomprehensible for the next." Elspeth spoke softly. She closed her mouth and just stared blankly upwards. Morality. What an arbitrary concept. A moment passed with her in silence. "The right thing..." she began once more. "What is it? Will it really make you..." Will it really make you happy? Would they turn back in fear from the darkness in her heart or embrace the scattered light that shone through? ...It mattered not. "I guess we're a team now, huh?" she said, smiling faintly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wc: 211
211+210 (prev post)= 421
421+5037= 5458 words total. Ouch
(Sorry for the wait and the short post. I was just diagnosed with depression, and it's starting to hit me hard)

(AWW! I'm always here for ya buddo!)

"Yeah! We're a team!" Aeizith agreed whole-heartedly, smiling innocently at Elspeth as she looked over at him. They were more than just a team in his eyes, though... When he looked at them, he saw not a man, a woman and a child, all banding together for the common goal of surviving and thriving. He saw a family looking to make their way in the world together, a family that would protect each-other with all their collective might... It was impossible for him to see Xuba as a murderer because, in his mind, he'd be completely lost and without guidance as well as having a lack of purpose in this world without him... Just the same as he couldn't look Elspeth in the eye and think her a stranger as she had just possibly saved his life and cared enough to not ask anything in return. If anything else, he wanted to wrap his arms around them both and call them his parents but even that was taking it a bit too far for the white-haired child.  They were his protectors and teachers and he wanted to be EXACTLY like them when he grew up...They were his idols...

"S-So...." Aeizith asked, looking around, noticing that they were still in that alley and just now realizing that Xuba didn't possess the groceries he was initially shopping for. It made him wonder if he dropped everything to come and find him... that he cared that much... It would surely bring a tear to his eye once he had a moment in private. "W-were do w-we plan on g-going...?" He asked, smiling softly at them both. "A-a small t-town...? A-a trading o-outpost...?"

xuba concentrated his chakra taking in account that was being stated by the girl and aeizith, but now his focus was on the girl before him dying in a sense as he disired to assure she was at least out of the crucial  point. with his offensive assault from earlier.
 
hopefully she can hang on before we move on to greater challenges...
 
xuba thought as he weaved the handsigns hastily and with a will to heal and allow recovery xuba proceeded to see the greenish color emit from his palms. this however was not at the desired level yet it would suffice as he began to work his hands carefully over the gir's body. silence came from xuba as it may have not been enough but was enough to in fact allow her worst bruises to come from flat out knocking her unconscious and down a death spiral to her eventual doom.
 
"it may not be enough for there is surely more damage done... but for now you may be safe till we get more expert healing.. i hate to say it you will have to tough it out."
 
xuba said as he spoke.
 
"yes we are like a family. in due time we will see what occurs. near the quieter areas there will be more places that may help us you see. our adventures will improve in due time. for now. we will head out today. our training will commence another time ok? food and rest will be required now. "
 
xuba spoke as he picked up the girl gently. and took a knee so Aeizith can climb on his back with his good arm. he cradled the girl and despite his speed carried the girl with great speed and haste away from the ally
 

"hand on you two we are heading home to rest briefly"

xuba would state while he with both speed and control carried the girl and little boy away.

(exit with both unless interrupted)

twc:5,895

+2,000 for seven heaven breaths C ranked
+3,000 for seven heaven breaths B ranked
+500 for medical jutsu E ranked

+29 stats

Elspeth let out a sigh as some of the minor cuts and scrapes she had sustained closed. Xuba's chakra felt like warm water. Some of the severity of her more serious injuries went down just a bit, but that was all she needed to make it more bearable. "I know there's more damage done," she said calmly. The pain was throbbing in an almost numbing way. "I'll just take it easy from here on out. No more taijutsu until I make a full recovery." she added as an afterthought. She let herself listen to the other's conversation, the fluctuations of their voices calming her into a trance-like state. She trusted them to have her back. It was a strange, alien feeling for her. She decided that she liked it. Elspeth let a smile come to her face as she began to relax. She winced, though, as Xuba picked her up gently. Her ribs and arm were still really badly damaged after all. She shifted slightly in his arms as Aeizith got onto his back. A family, eh? What an interesting concept. No matter what, she was going to help out and follow her new partners to the end. A small town or a trading outpost sounded interesting... But there were bigger fish in the sea. Though it might be a good idea to make a full recovery first. Her ribs throbbed as if in agreement. As they headed towards wherever home was, she blinked. She had only known her partners for a few days yet spending time with them already felt like the most natural thing in the world.

(Exit)
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5037+269=5306
500 words towards Fire Release: Fire Stream
500 words towards Discipline
500 words towards Basic Medical Jutsu
1100 words towards Fire Release: Explosion
878 words towards Mist Servant Genjutsu
Requesting that the remaining 1828 words go to puppetry spec instead of Seven Heavens Deep breathing because I am switching specs and thus will not be able to use that tech, which requires the tai spec.

+26 stats

Aeizith grinned softly, climbing onto Xuba's back as he offered it to him, sighing in contentment as he rested his chin on his master's shoulder, smiling at Elspeth as she made herself comfortable in Xuba's arms and, in a flash, the trio was gone...

(EXIT)
WC: 6561
Claiming 32 stats
500 towards clone
500 towards Bodyflicker
2000 towards waterwhip
1000 Water Replacement technique
500 transformation
500 Tree-climbing/waterwalking